Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Sell”

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Thursday morning.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on LNC. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Lincoln National from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Lincoln National from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Lincoln National from $32.00 to $31.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Lincoln National from $28.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Lincoln National from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $33.00.

Lincoln National Stock Performance

LNC stock opened at $32.43 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market cap of $5.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.44, a P/E/G ratio of 0.31 and a beta of 1.81. Lincoln National has a 12-month low of $20.85 and a 12-month high of $36.46. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.81.

Lincoln National (NYSE:LNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.65 billion. Lincoln National had a return on equity of 17.13% and a net margin of 12.24%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.02 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Lincoln National will post 5.73 EPS for the current year.

Lincoln National Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.55%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 10th. Lincoln National’s dividend payout ratio is 24.62%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lincoln National

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LNC. Creative Planning lifted its stake in Lincoln National by 7.1% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 21,922 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $691,000 after acquiring an additional 1,451 shares in the last quarter. Unison Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Lincoln National by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 63,328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,995,000 after acquiring an additional 899 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Lincoln National by 13.3% in the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $110,000 after acquiring an additional 411 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its stake in Lincoln National by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 14,879 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $469,000 after acquiring an additional 590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management lifted its stake in Lincoln National by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 6,808 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $215,000 after acquiring an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. 72.81% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lincoln National Company Profile

Lincoln National Corporation, through its subsidiaries, operates multiple insurance and retirement businesses in the United States. It operates in four segments: Life Insurance, Annuities, Group Protection, and Retirement Plan Services. The Life Insurance segment provides life insurance products, including term insurance, universal life insurance (UL), indexed universal life insurance, variable universal life insurance (VUL), linked-benefit UL and VUL products, and critical illness and long-term care riders.